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AFL-CIO endorses Obama, acknowledges difficulties

By BYRON TAU

03/13/2012 03:47 PM EDT

(AP Photo)

In a widely expected move, the AFL-CIO, the largest labor organization in the United States, endorsed President Obama for reelection Tuesday.

"With our endorsement today, we affirm our faith in him—and pledge to work with him through the election and his second term to restore fairness, security and shared prosperity," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a statement.

Underscoring the occasionally strained relationship between the Obama administration and the broader labor movement, Trumka acknowledged past difficulties and differences while praising the president's underlying values and commitment to working Americans.

The organization “has sometimes differed with the president and often pushed his administration to do more and do it faster,” Trumka said. But “we have never doubted his commitment to working families."

The biggest hitch in the Obama-labor relationship came over the stalled 'card-check' bill that would have made organizing new labor unions easier. The bill was a top priority of labor leaders early in Obama's presidency — but it never cleared Congress before the GOP takeover in 2010. Obama's veto of the Keystone XL pipeline and shepherding of free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea also strained the relationship. Still, Obama has recently pivoted towards manufacturing, jobs and insourcing — all labor mainstays. And in January, he defied congressional Republicans and recess-appointed three members to the National Labor Relations Boards just to keep that board operating — a top priority of labor leaders.

The AFL-CIO slammed the remaining Republican presidential contenders as being defenders of privilege and opponents of working people. "Obama honors the values of hard work, of mutual respect and of solving problems together—not every person for himself or herself. He believes that together we will get through the most challenging economic crisis in memory and restore opportunity for all," Trumka said. "Each of the Republican presidential candidates, on the other hand, has pledged to uphold the special privileges of Wall Street and the 1 percent — privileges that have produced historic economic inequality and drowned out the voices of working people in America."

Trumka also specifically cited Obama's focus on the insourcing and the revitalization of the American manufacturing sector in the organization's endorsement.

"He has worked hard to create good jobs; he has made the revival of the manufacturing sector a hallmark of his jobs agenda; he has moved aggressively to protect workers’ rights, pay and health and safety on the job; he has worked for a fair resolution of the housing crisis; and he put his confidence and administration unequivocally behind the workers and companies in the American auto industry—a move that saved hundreds of thousands of jobs and is helping to revive the economy now and for the future," Trumka said.

Still, Trumka repeated a vow to remain independent from the Democratic Party and mount their own outside effort, coupled with the launch of an AFL-CIO super PAC.

"We will be running an independent program rooted not in parties or candidates but in helping working people build power, making informed decisions about which candidates at every level to work for based on records and issues," Trumka said.

Obama has already been endorsed by several affiliates of the AFL-CIO, including AFSCME, AFT, CWA, IAM, IBB, LIUNA, UAand USW.